The Truth About Us

by Megan D. Martin

  He nodded. “Yeah, I feel kind of like a dunce for not knowing, but I guess it makes sense.” He shrugged. “I’m honestly kind of surprised you agreed to go out with me again, especially here, around them.” Owen motioned behind me. I didn’t look.

  “Uh, yeah, well, sure it’s a little awkward, but it’s fine.” I smiled at him genuinely. I meant the words. Owen really seemed like a good guy, with good intentions.

  “I’m more surprised you wanted to take me out.” I chuckled. “Isn’t there some sort of bro code about not dating your friend’s ex?”

  He cocked an eyebrow and shrugged. The movement was probably the cutest thing I’d ever seen him do. “I’m not really one to follow the rules, if you know what I mean?” Owen winked and I couldn’t keep the giggle off my lips.

  “You’re really cute, you know that?” I surprised myself with my bold words.

  “Oh yeah?” His smile widened. “Well, what do I have to do to change that from cute to sexy?” He leaned in closer, causing pool water to flood half the floaty.

  “Hmmm.” I bit my lip. “That’s a tough one, Owen. I’ll have to get back to you with an answer on that.”

  “A tough one, huh?” He moved closer until I was practically on my side pressed against him, dangerously close to falling off the float all together. His skin was hot from the sun. His lips were close to mine.

  “Cannonball!” A huge splash rocked the water right by my head, sending me flipping off the float and under water, successfully removing the warmth of Owen’s skin from mine. I came up sputtering, my float halfway across the pool by the rockslide.

  “Really, Jay? I’m holding my beer, man.” Owen stood a few feet away from me wiping his eyes.

  “You two looked like you needed some cooling off.” Jay was one of the techs who had left my dad’s shop for Tyler’s. He was older than Tyler, in his mid-thirties, with a wife who currently lounged out of the pool reading a book. He was one of those solid big guys, with a hairy chest, and class clown personality. Jay had always been pulling pranks on my dad at the shop. It had driven Dad nuts, but I knew he liked having him around.

  “Don’t be jealous, Jay. It isn’t my fault your wife chose Christian Grey over swimming with you, right Cathy?” Owen said jokingly. Cathy only waved, not looking up from her book.

  “Eh, she’ll choose me later tonight.” He winked at me. “But I don’t think Miss Rowan has cooled off enough from that encounter you two were having. I saw your muffins bumping.”

  “Muffins?” I exclaimed.

  “Mhmm. I haven’t seen a serious muffin bump like that in a while. It looks like someone needs the cool-off express.”

  “What? No—” But Jay had already dived toward me. I tried to get away, but one of his big hands fastened around my arm.

  “I gotcha girly. Your daddy wouldn’t be happy about you out here canoodling. Do I need to call him?” he asked, just as he scooped me up and threw me.

  I giggled as I broke back through the surface of the water. “I’m a grown woman, Jay. I can do what I want.”

  “Uh huh, clearly.” He laughed, and high-fived Owen. I rolled my eyes, but not before I caught sight of Tyler out of the corner of my eye. He stood next to Vic and another guy, the two chatting and holding beers. Evie sat next to the receptionist on a pool chair, the one who had been at the bar with Vic. Tyler gripped a beer in his palm, but he wasn’t sharing in the conversation with Vic. He was staring at me.

  “Get ready, get set, go!”

  I pushed off the side of the swimming pool at the sound of Jay’s voice, determined to beat Rafael in our race across the pool and back. I’d already beaten Joe and one of the other tech’s girlfriends. I was on a roll – probably because everyone else had been drinking for a few hours, and I was clean as whistle. In fact, I was in better spirits than I thought I would be considering the situation, especially the fact that Tyler and Evie were here and had been for a while, long enough that the sun had begun to set. Neither Tyler or Evie had said anything to me – nor had Vic or his girlfriend, whose name I learned was Mina. In fact, I’d hardly had a run in with any of them since I’d been in the pool most of the time.

  Evie and Mina sat in loungers talking, barely even sticking their feet in the water and Tyler stood around talking with some of the guys. Myself and Owen, and several others spent the majority of our time in the water floating around, diving for rings, and now, racing. I pushed my body hard through the water, stroking my arms overhead. While I was someone who didn’t like to cause a scene, I also didn’t like to lose. I was a quiet loser, not someone who said much about it, though I loved a good competition. Plus I had a legitimate chance against Rafael. He wasn’t much taller than me, and again, he’d been drinking.

  I relished the feeling of pressure in my lungs, daring me to wait a little longer, begging me to take a breath. I pushed harder.

  Not much farther. Just a few more strokes.

  My fingers grasped the brick on the side of the pool as I came up for air, immediately glancing next to me to watch Rafael touch the brick after me. I couldn’t help the huge grin that spread across my face.

  “Damn, little Steel, you’ve got game,” he sputtered when he came up. “I thought I had you for sure.”

  “All right, Rowan! Kicking ass and taking names! That’s my girl!”

  I looked up and met Owen’s gaze. He stood on the bricks I grasped to keep me above water, the referee of our race. I smiled up at him, the exhilaration of the win coursing through me, and honest to goodness happiness to be looking up at him and hearing him call me his girl. I had been so uncertain about him before because of Tyler – but after today I realized that things didn’t have to be weird. Tyler and I didn’t have to be at each other’s throats or in some sort of dangerous sexual interlude to coexist. I suddenly saw real potential in something with Owen, no matter how matchy our names were.

  I leaned my elbows on the bricks and tapped my lips. Owen immediately bent down and pressed his lips to mine. I embraced their light warmth.

  “I’m next.” Tyler’s deep voice broke me away from my kiss with Owen.

  “Wh-what?” I sputtered.

  For a kiss?

  “I’ll race you next.” He climbed into the pool next to me, sending water sloshing around us.

  I stared up at Owen, but his face remained neutral. “All right everyone,” Owen announced, “we have a new challenger of the current champion. Three consecutive races undefeated, the beautiful, gorgeous, and sexy Rowan, goes up against the Ty man himself, who, if he loses, loses all honor for the rest of his life.” Owen winked at me.

  Everyone around the pool had stopped their conversations and stared at us. The majority of the people here knew our complicated history, and it seemed that a pool race between the two of us merited undivided attention. Especially from Evie, who, for the first time, had stopped talking with Mina and stood at the edge of the pool, looking displeased.

  “Prepare to lose,” Tyler said, not looking at me as he got into position.

  “Never.” I took a deep breath.

  “Are the competitors ready?” I didn’t look back at Owen when I nodded. Tyler was a lot taller than me, and despite the fact that he had been drinking, I didn’t doubt his athleticism. He had always been in good shape, but he seemed to be in even better shape now than when we had split. His muscles were more clearly defined, his body leaner. I hadn’t seen any of it the night we had sex. I hadn’t realized until after, that he hadn’t taken a stitch of clothing off, when I had been entirely naked.

  Pathetic.

  Not anymore. Determination burned through my veins. I had let Tyler have my body a few weeks ago, but I wouldn’t let him have this race. No, this was mine.

  “Ready,”

  I pressed my foot against the grainy pool side.

  “Set,”

  I sucked in a deep breath.

  “Go!”

  I pushed off with everything I had, throwing my arms forward fast in a repeated stro
ke motion. I could do this. I could beat him. The muscles in my arms burned as I sped across the pool. I could hear people outside the pool cheering – for who though, I wasn’t sure. By the time I reached the other side of the pool, Tyler had also reached it, just a millisecond behind me.

  I’m beating him. I can do this!

  I pushed harder on the way back to Owen and the bricks. I remembered the empty feeling in my gut after Tyler left the other night. The loneliness that had set in, the utter feeling of regret – the longing. I shouldn’t have felt those things, but I did. I couldn’t, I wouldn’t forget the pain in his eyes, the ache. I hated that those emotions existed – that they existed because of me. I hated that he was easy to want, to accept, even his hate. Bitterness flooded me. This was all supposed to be easier. I had done the right thing for Tyler.

  Then why are you so angry with him?

  I didn’t have an answer to that question. I responded only by pushing my body harder, faster. When my fingers touched the bricks between Owen’s feet, I came up for air to find Tyler staring back at me.

  “Ladies and gentleman, the winner, by a hair, Tyler Nusom!”

  I blinked at him. He smiled. It was a cruel smile. He had beaten me. I watched as he climbed out of the pool to be embraced and kissed by Evie. Her perfectly manicured fingers gripping his scruffy cheeks.

  “So close.” Owen bent down, offering me his hand. I took it and climbed out of the pool.

  I nodded. Losing was one thing, but it was another to lose to Tyler, especially right now.

  “I’m going to run to the bathroom.”

  “Cool.” Owen leaned in and kissed my cheek. “You wanna head out after that?”

  “Yes.” I absolutely wanted that.

  As I unlocked the door after using the restroom on the back porch of Victor’s dad’s house, I froze at the sound of voices.

  “Why the hell would you race her?” Evie asked.

  “I don’t know. Why not?” Tyler replied.

  “You knew I didn’t want her here, and then you go and swim with her like that?”

  “Evie, calm down, okay? It was just a race. I haven’t even talked to her all day.”

  “Yeah, well, that doesn’t change the fact that you purposely got in the pool to swim with her. What kind of shit are you tying to pull?”

  Tyler sighed. “Nothing. I thought it looked like fun.”

  “Like fun?”

  I peered through the crack in the door and saw the two of them across the porch by the back door – the only exit. Evie had her hands on her hips, her dangerously tiny swimsuit threatening to reveal all with the wrong movement.

  “Yeah, I just wanted to swim. I’ve been asking you all day to get in.”

  “Oh, so because I don’t get in the pool with you, you want to get in with that bitch? That fucking ugly whore? Is that what you want – her?”

  I couldn’t help but recoil at her words. I didn’t know Evie, and I didn’t expect her to love me, or, heck, even remotely like me considering mine and Tyler’s past. But it was still jarring to hear someone who didn’t even know me talk about me that way. I had always been the likable girl growing up. I didn’t have or make enemies. I was nice to everyone. I liked to be liked, to have friends. Animosity between me or anyone else drove me nuts. I hated the idea of someone disliking me, no matter the reason. That was the reason I had chosen to try to talk to Tyler to begin with, with my genius ideas about telling him the truth – a lot of good that had done me.

  The thought of Evie not liking me hurt my feelings in the weirdest way. I didn’t think she was awesome by any means, but I didn’t have any actual reason to dislike her outside of the fact that she was dating my ex boyfriend.

  “I never said I wanted her. I just wanted to participate in the fun, and she just so happened to be the reigning champion.”

  The fact that Tyler didn’t stick up for me, didn’t deny her accusations against my morality didn’t surprise me. After all, I had done all I could to ensure he believed those exact things about me. However, it did hurt me deep inside. I could remember when he would have throat-punched anyone who would dare say an ill word against me, and now he easily brushed those words off as if they were common as toast.

  “Just so happened, huh? I saw the way you’ve looked at her. You haven’t paid any freaking attention to me, but your eyes have been glued to her ugly ass all day.”

  “That’s not true, Evie.”

  “Oh, bull shit. I wear this freaking two-thousand-dollar bikini and you hardly look at me, yet Miss Thrift Store out there garners all your attention.”

  Had he been looking at me all day?

  It doesn’t freaking matter, Rowan.

  For once I listened to my subconscious. It didn’t matter if he had been looking at me. I didn’t come here for him. I came here for myself, for Owen, and a tiny little part of me came for my dad. Tyler didn’t factor into this picture. Plus, he was an asshole and his girlfriend had just said all sorts of hurtful shitty things about me. I didn’t have to hide around and listen to it anymore.

  So I didn’t.

  I pushed out of the bathroom. They both turned to look at me as I stepped out, but I didn’t make eye contact with either of them. I just moved forward, clutching my towel around me.

  “Oh, and speak of the fucking devil, there she is, just in time to emerge from her hovel and interrupt us.”

  Evie’s words surprised me. I had expected her to shut up when she saw me.

  “Ugh, just leave it alone, Evie,” Tyler said.

  “No, I won’t leave it alone. I’ve been nice all day, but this is bullshit. You shouldn’t be here.” She pointed one of her manicured fingers at me.

  I hated this situation so much, the last thing I liked were dramatic outbursts, and it looked as if Evie was the queen of them.

  “I was invited,” I said plainly.

  “Oh, you were invited,” she mocked me. “A pity invite, clearly. You don’t belong here.” She took a step toward me, and I realized that she wore pink heels that matched her swimsuit making her several inches over six feet. “You and Tyler are over. Get over it.”

  I frowned, looking up at her. “Evie, obviously I know that. I came here with Owen. Not Tyler.” I glanced over at him. “I thought that was pretty obvious.”

  “Yeah, well you aren’t fooling anyone, we all know why you came here. So you could make googly eyes at Tyler all night. And I was prepared to be nice to you, but forget it. You don’t deserve it, you’re a fucking homewrecker.”

  I recoiled my head in surprise. I was almost tempted to laugh at the absurdity of her words. She had gathered all of that from one race across the pool? “I’m sorry you think that, Evie. But Tyler and I are over, and we have been for a long time.” I didn’t look at him as I spoke those words, unwilling to acknowledge the two different interludes we’d had over the last several weeks. “I’m happy for you guys. Really.” I glanced between them. Tyler’s face was neutral, while Evie’s cheeks were red and contorted, ready rip me apart.

  There was a bitter part of me that wanted to tell Evie where she could shove her expensive ass bathing suit and ridiculous heels, but I kept my mouth shut, refusing to cause a scene. Plus, killing her with kindness was way more satisfying.

  “See you guys around.” I pushed out the door before either of them could say anything else, hurrying to Owen who had just finished packing up the cooler.

  “Ready to go?”

  “More than ready.” No truer statement had ever been issued.

  r

  “All right everyone, raise your glass to the newest, most amazing, handsome – though not as handsome as me – shop foreman at Steel Mechanics. Tyler Nusom!” Victor shouted into the crowd at the Buzzy Brew, his glass of beer raised above his head. Everyone around us cheered – all of them my coworkers. I raised my glass with them, still in disbelief.

  I’d worked for Steel for almost eight months now, and had been dating Rowan for almost five – arguably the be
st time of my life – and now I had been promoted to the highest position in the shop. A job I never in my life thought I would acquire, especially not at Steel.

  A couple different people slapped me on the back, uttering congratulations.

  “Congratulations, babe.” Rowan stood beside me, her arm around my waist. She clutched a cup of water in her hand, not old enough yet to drink.

  “Yeah, must be nice to be fucking the owner’s daughter and get a promotion because of it.” Darren’s loud voice rose above the others. I turned around to see him leaning against the bar.

  “Don’t start this crap, Darren. You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  Darren had been in line for the job. On my first day he had told me so – it had been no secret that Old Red, the shop foreman, had been on the verge of retiring. Darren had worked there the longest out of all the current techs. He had a lot of experience at other places and was good at his job. There was no denying that, even if he was a huge douchebag meathead I didn’t care for.

  “Don’t start what, bruh? Spouting the truth?” Darren pushed off from the bar.

  I took a deep breath. I didn’t want to do this. I just wanted to have a nice time – I didn’t want to argue with him. A small part of me felt guilty – it had been a larger part earlier that morning, when George had taken me into his office and offered me the job.

  “That’s Darren job, though,” had been the first words out of my mouth after George offered the position to me.

  George shook his head, his penetrating gaze never leaving mine. “The job belongs to who I give it to, or have you forgotten who is in charge around here?”

  My heart rushed in my chest. This had been my goal, my dream job – to be shop foreman at Steel, something I had dreamed of since the moment I learned what the job title meant years ago.

  “Yes, sir. I get that.”

  “Ah, but you’re worried about what everyone will think, since you date my daughter.”

  George had this ability to practically read minds. Rowan claimed it came from his death stare, which was unwavering, and felt like he was staring directly into my soul. Reluctantly, I nodded.